Alec Pierce is catching long balls at a historic rate. He’s caught only 13 passes, but 5 have gone for 40-plus yards. Five games in, he’s averaging 28.3 yards per catch.
Pierce caught a couple of bombs from Anthony Richardson in the opener, and he caught a pair from Joe Flacco in Jacksonville last week. The Colts are well stocked with other promising young receivers – Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, Adonai Mitchell – but Pierce is the guy they’re going to when they’re looking for a big play downfield.
Such plays are hard to pull off. Tyreek Hill in his career has never had more than 9 receptions of 40-plus in a season. Justin Jefferson’s career high is 6. Ja’Marr Chase’s best season featured 8 such plays.
I don’t know how long this will last. Opponents have now seen him catch a few, so no doubt that potential will be discussed in the preparations for games. Defensive coordinators hate giving up big plays. But it’s been a fun ride so far.
Indianapolis is at Tennessee today, and with two of its other receivers hurting (Pittman, Downs).
In the last 10 seasons, 107 wide receivers have caught at least 5 passes of 40-plus yards in a season. Only 32 of those come up with such plays on at least 10 percent of their receptions. Pierce is the leader in that metric for now, with over a third of his catches going for 40-plus yards.
| BOMB SQUAD WIDE RECEIVERS | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | No | Yards | Avg | TD | 40+ | Pct |
| 2023 | Alec Pierce, Ind. | 13 | 368 | 28.3 | 3 | 5 | 38.5% |
| 2016 | Sammie Coates, Pitt. | 21 | 435 | 20.7 | 2 | 6 | 28.6% |
| 2014 | DeSean Jackson, Was. | 56 | 1,169 | 20.9 | 6 | 13 | 23.2% |
| 2019 | M. Valdes-Scantling, G.B. | 26 | 452 | 17.4 | 2 | 5 | 19.2% |
| 2014 | Martavis Bryant, Pitt. | 26 | 549 | 21.1 | 8 | 5 | 19.2% |
| 2020 | M. Valdes-Scantling, G.B. | 33 | 690 | 20.9 | 6 | 6 | 18.2% |
| 2017 | Kenny Golladay, Det. | 28 | 477 | 17.0 | 3 | 5 | 17.9% |
| 2019 | Mike Williams, LAC | 49 | 1,001 | 20.4 | 2 | 8 | 16.3% |
| 2019 | A.J. Brown, Ten. | 52 | 1,051 | 20.2 | 8 | 8 | 15.4% |
| 2023 | Rashid Shaheed, N.O. | 46 | 719 | 15.6 | 5 | 7 | 15.2% |
| 2015 | Torrey Smith, S.F. | 33 | 663 | 20.1 | 4 | 5 | 15.2% |
| 2015 | Kenny Britt, St.L. | 36 | 681 | 18.9 | 3 | 5 | 13.9% |
| 2014 | Michael Floyd, Ari. | 47 | 841 | 17.9 | 6 | 6 | 12.8% |
| 2016 | Travis Benjamin, S.D. | 47 | 677 | 14.4 | 4 | 6 | 12.8% |
| 2019 | Stefon Diggs, Min. | 63 | 1,130 | 17.9 | 6 | 8 | 12.7% |
| 2018 | DeSean Jackson, T.B. | 41 | 774 | 18.9 | 4 | 5 | 12.2% |
| 2017 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 75 | 1,183 | 15.8 | 7 | 9 | 12.0% |
| 2021 | Mike Williams, LAC | 76 | 1,146 | 15.1 | 9 | 9 | 11.8% |
| 2021 | Deebo Samuel, S.F. | 77 | 1,405 | 18.2 | 6 | 9 | 11.7% |
| 2015 | Sammy Watkins, Buff. | 60 | 1,047 | 17.5 | 9 | 7 | 11.7% |
| 2015 | Ted Ginn, Car. | 44 | 739 | 16.8 | 10 | 5 | 11.4% |
| 2015 | Markus Wheaton, Pitt. | 44 | 749 | 17.0 | 5 | 5 | 11.4% |
| 2023 | Amari Cooper, Cle. | 72 | 1,250 | 17.4 | 5 | 8 | 11.1% |
| 2017 | Brandin Cooks, N.E. | 65 | 1,082 | 16.6 | 7 | 7 | 10.8% |
| 2017 | T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 57 | 966 | 16.9 | 4 | 6 | 10.5% |
| 2018 | Tyler Lockett, Sea. | 57 | 965 | 16.9 | 10 | 6 | 10.5% |
| 2019 | Mike Evans, T.B. | 67 | 1,157 | 17.3 | 8 | 7 | 10.4% |
| 2020 | Nelson Agholor, L.V. | 48 | 896 | 18.7 | 8 | 5 | 10.4% |
| 2019 | Tyreek Hill, K.C. | 58 | 860 | 14.8 | 7 | 6 | 10.3% |
| 2017 | JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pitt. | 58 | 917 | 15.8 | 7 | 6 | 10.3% |
| 2015 | Martavis Bryant, Pitt. | 50 | 765 | 15.3 | 6 | 5 | 10.0% |
| 2023 | Deebo Samuel, S.F. | 60 | 892 | 14.9 | 7 | 6 | 10.0% |
—Ian Allan